Protein Muffins
Soft cottage cheese muffins built on blended oats instead of flour. The whole batter goes through a blender, so the curds disappear and the oats grind into flour on the spot. Around 9 g of protein per muffin, sweetened with maple syrup rather than sugar. They bake with a domed top and stay moist for four to five days in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 400 g5% cottage cheese
- 200 grolled oats
- 3 pcseggs
- 80 mlmaple syrup
- 30 gvanilla protein powder
- 2 tspbaking powder
- 1 tspground cinnamon
- 1 tspvanilla extract
- 0.5 tspsalt
- 60 gdark chocolate chips
Method
- Heat the oven to 190°C. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and grease the liners lightly — cottage cheese batter clings to bare paper and tears the muffins.
- Put the cottage cheese, eggs, maple syrup, vanilla extract and rolled oats into a blender. Blend 40–50 seconds on high, until no oat flakes are visible and the batter is completely smooth.
- Add the protein powder, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Pulse for 5–10 seconds only. Blending long after the protein powder goes in is what makes these muffins rubbery.
- Let the batter stand 5 minutes. The oats absorb the liquid and it thickens visibly — this is what gives a tender crumb instead of a wet centre.
- Stir in most of the chocolate chips with a spoon. Divide the batter between the 12 liners, filling each almost to the top, and scatter the remaining chips over the surface.
- Bake 20–22 minutes, until the tops are set, lightly golden and spring back under a finger. A skewer should come out with moist crumbs, not wet batter.
- Turn the oven off and leave the tin inside with the door ajar for 5 minutes, then cool on a rack. The gradual cooling keeps the domes from sinking.
FAQ
Yes. Leave it out and add 30 g more rolled oats. Protein per muffin drops from about 9 g to about 7 g and the crumb gets slightly softer — the cottage cheese and eggs are still doing most of the work. If you want a quick protein hit without baking at all, a protein shake covers a similar macro balance in a glass.
Almost always over-blending after the protein powder went in. Protein powder tightens a batter fast under a blade. Add it at the end and pulse for a few seconds, no more.
Blending is what gives protein muffins a smooth crumb. Unblended curds stay visible as white specks and release water as they bake, leaving damp pockets. A stick blender in a tall jug works if you have no jug blender. If you'd rather keep the curds whole, cottage cheese flatbread uses the same cheese without any blending at all.
Four to five days in a sealed container in the fridge. They contain fresh dairy and should not be left at room temperature. They also freeze for two months — thaw overnight or warm for 20 seconds in a microwave.
Honey works at the same volume. Granulated sweeteners change the liquid balance of the batter, so if you use one, add 40 ml milk to compensate. For another oat-based breakfast with a similar sweetness, banana oat pancakes use mashed banana instead of syrup.
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